88290 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 244 / Thursday, December 21, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

1See also 20 CFR 656.1 and 656.2. 

2See 30 FR 14979 (Dec. 3, 1965) (publishing 

initial Schedule A). 

3See 20 CFR 656.5(b) and 656.15(d); see also See 

Final Rule, Labor Certification Process for the 

Permanent Employment of Aliens in the United 

States, 42 FR 3440 (Jan. 18, 1977), available at 

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OALJ/ 

PUBLIC/INA/REFERENCES/FEDERAL_REGISTER/

42_FED._REG._3440_(JAN._18,_1977).PDF 

(establishing the initial framework for Group II). 

4See 8 CFR 204.5(k)(4)(i); 8 CFR 204.5(l)(3)(i); see 

also 20 CFR 656.15. 

5Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Availability of 

and Adverse Effect Upon American Workers, 30 FR 

14494, 14494 (Nov. 19, 1965), available at https:// 

www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1965-11-19/pdf/ 

FR-1965-11-19.pdf. 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

20 CFR Part 656 

RIN 1205–AC16 

Labor Certification for Permanent 

Employment of Foreign Workers in the 

United States; Modernizing Schedule A 

To Include Consideration of Additional 

Occupations in Science, Technology, 

Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) 

and Non-STEM Occupations 

AGENCY: Employment and Training 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor’s 

(Department or DOL) Employment and 

Training Administration (ETA) is 

considering revisions to Schedule A of 

the permanent labor certification 

process to include occupations in 

Science, Technology, Engineering and 

Mathematics (STEM) and other nonSTEM occupations and invites 

employers and other interested parties 

to comment on this Request for 

Information (RFI). ETA’s Office of 

Foreign Labor Certification developed 

this RFI and is publishing it for 

comment so that the public may provide 

input, including data, statistical metrics 

or models, studies, and other relevant 

information, on how the Department 

may establish a reliable, objective, and 

transparent methodology for revising 

Schedule A to include STEM and other 

non-STEM occupations that are 

experiencing labor shortages, consistent 

with requirements of the Immigration 

and Nationality Act (INA). The 

Department wants to ensure that it is 

striking an appropriate balance between 

the need to provide U.S. workers notice 

of available permanent job opportunities 

and the opportunity to apply for those 

job opportunities, and, where 

insufficient U.S. workers are available to 

satisfy an employer’s need for 

permanent labor, the need to provide 

employers access to foreign labor 

through effective administration of the 

permanent labor certification program. 

Information received from the public 

will help inform decisions regarding 

whether or how to improve Schedule A 

and ensure that its purpose in 

responding to national labor shortages is 

more effectively met. 

DATES: Submit written comments on or 

before February 20, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments electronically by the 

following method: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions on the website for 

submitting comments. 

• Instructions: Include the docket 

number ETA–2023–0006 in your 

comments. All comments received will 

be posted without change to https://

www.regulations.gov. Please do not 

include any personally identifiable or 

confidential business information you 

do not want publicly disclosed. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, contact Brian 

Pasternak, Administrator, Office of 

Foreign Labor Certification, 

Employment and Training 

Administration, Department of Labor, 

200 Constitution Avenue NW, N–5311, 

Washington, DC 20210; Telephone (202) 

513–7350 (this is not a toll-free 

number). For persons with a hearing or 

speech disability who need assistance to 

use the telephone system, please dial 

711 to access telecommunications relay 

services. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Legal Framework 

Section 212(a)(5)(A) of the INA, 8 

U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)(A), deems 

inadmissible certain foreign nationals 

who seek to enter the United States for 

purposes of employment, unless the 

Secretary of Labor first certifies that: (1) 

there are insufficient U.S. workers at the 

place where the foreign worker would 

be employed who are able, willing, 

qualified and available for the job the 

foreign worker seeks; and (2) 

employment of the foreign worker 

would not adversely affect the wages 

and working conditions of U.S. workers 

in similar jobs.1

In an effort to address the workforce 

needs of employers at a time when the 

U.S. economy was rapidly expanding, 

the Department first established a 

mechanism in the mid-1960s by 

regulation for pre-certifying job 

vacancies of occupations for which U.S. 

workers were in short supply 

nationwide, which became known as 

Schedule A of the permanent labor 

certification program.2 Schedule A is set 

forth in the Department’s permanent 

labor certification regulations at 20 CFR 

656.5 and enumerates a list of 

occupations for which the Department 

has predetermined that the statutory 

requirements have been met. The 

occupations currently listed in Schedule 

A are divided into two groups. Group I 

consists of physical therapists and 

professional nurses; Group II consists of 

occupations that require foreign workers 

to possess exceptional ability in the 

sciences, arts, or performing arts.3 An 

employer seeking to hire foreign 

nationals in shortage occupations on 

Schedule A is able to forego the need to 

test the labor market normally required 

under the Department’s process for 

permanent labor certification, is able to 

bypass filing an application for 

permanent employment certification 

with the Department, and instead files 

an uncertified application for 

permanent employment certification 

directly with U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services (USCIS) at the 

time the employer files its immigrant 

visa petition, or Immigrant Petition for 

Alien Workers, Form I–140.4

II. Background 

Schedule A was proposed in 1965 by 

the Secretary of Labor via rulemaking 

modifying then 29 CFR 60.2: 

‘‘Certification and noncertification 

schedules. (a) Determination. To reduce 

the delay in processing an alien’s 

request for visa, the determination has 

been made by the Secretary of Labor 

pursuant to section 212(a)(14) that: (1) 

For the categories of employment 

described in Schedule A and in the 

geographic areas therein set forth, there 

are not sufficient workers who are able, 

willing, qualified, and available for 

employment in such categories, and the 

employment of aliens in such categories 

and in such areas will not adversely 

affect the wages and working conditions 

of workers in the United States similarly 

employed.’’ 5 Historically, the post-1965 

permanent labor certification program, 

by design, relied on labor market 

statistics compiled by state employment 

service offices. The Department used 

that information as the basis for 

Schedule A. In the 1960s and 1970s, 

Schedule A was the product of an 

extensive process of economic and labor 

market analysis of employment demand 

and supply by the Department. 

Schedule A occupations were later 

identified through the application of 

multiple factors, including 

unemployment rates; occupational 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 244 / Thursday, December 21, 2023 / Proposed Rules 88291 

6See Proposed Rule, Labor Certification Process 

for the Permanent Employment of Aliens in the 

United States; Labor Market Information Pilot 

Program, 58 FR 15242, 15242 (Mar. 19, 1993), 

available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ 

FR-1993-03-19/pdf/FR-1993-03-19.pdf. 

7See, e.g., 31 FR 16412 (Dec. 23, 1966), 33 FR 

12808 (Sept. 10, 1968), 36 FR 2462 (Feb. 4, 1971), 

42 FR 3440 (Jan. 18, 1977), 45 FR 83933 (Dec. 19, 

1980), 52 FR 20593 (June 2, 1987), 56 FR 54920 

(Oct. 23, 1991), and 69 FR 77326 (Dec. 27, 2004). 

8 69 FR 77326, 77333. 

9On October 30, 2023, President Joseph R. Biden 

Jr. issued the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, 

and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial 

Intelligence (AI E.O.), which defines AI at section 

3(b). E.O. 14110, 88 FR 75191, 75193 (Nov. 1, 2023), 

available at https://www.federalregister.gov/ 

documents/2023/11/01/2023-24283/safe-secureand-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificialintelligence. 

10See Laughlin, L. et al., Who Are the STEM 

Workers Under Age 25?: Technician Is A Common 

Job Among Young STEM Workers, U.S. Census 

Bureau (Nov. 22, 2022), available at https://

www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/11/stemworkers-under-age-25.html. 

11See id. 

12See id. 

13See id. 

14See, e.g., Daniel Kuh, Ian Heckler and 

Alphonse Simeon, Registered Apprenticeship in 

Science and Engineering (May 2019), available at 

https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/ 

publication/100390/registered_apprenticeship_in_

science_and_engineering.pdf, and U.S. Department 

of Labor, Apprenticeship USA, available at https:// 

www.apprenticeship.gov/events/diversity-stemsession-iv-innovation-today-and-tomorrow. 

15A complete list of OEWS occupations included 

in the STEM definition by the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS) is available at https://www.bls.gov/ 

oes/stem_list.xlsx; however, different studies, 

research, and sources referenced herein might 

construe the definition of a STEM occupation more 

narrowly or more broadly than BLS. See, e.g., 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Standard Occupational 

Classification, About 2018 SOC System, Options for 

Defining STEM Occupations Under the 2018 SOC, 

Attachments B and C, available at https://

www.bls.gov/soc/Attachment_B_STEM_2018.pdf 

and https://www.bls.gov/soc/Attachment_C_STEM_

2018.pdf. 

16See Ass’n of Science and Technology Centers, 

U.S. Federal Agencies and STEM Engagement, 

available at https://www.astc.org/impact-initiatives/ 

advocacy/federal-agencies/. 

17See U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, 

Diversifying the Pipeline of STEM Talent (Jun. 18, 

2018), available at https://www.gao.gov/blog/2018/ 

06/19/diversifying-the-pipeline-of-stem-talent#:∼:

text=Over%20the%20last%20decade%2C%20

the%20federal%20government%20has,

opportunities%20for%20historically

%20underrepresented%20groups%20in%20these

%20fields. 

18See U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, America 

COMPETES Act: It Is Too Early to Evaluate 

Programs Long-Term Effectiveness, but Agencies 

Could Improve Reporting of High-Risk, HighReward Research Priorities (Oct. 7, 2010), available 

at https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-11-127r. 

19See 42 U.S.C. 6621. 

projections; evidence submitted by trade 

associations, employers and organized 

labor; and technical reviews by Federal 

and State staff with expertise in these 

areas.6 The occupational listings in the 

Schedule were reviewed and modified 

at regular intervals to reflect changing 

economic and labor market conditions 

and to prevent adverse effects on the 

wages or working conditions of U.S. 

workers. Schedule A has been revised 

eight times, the last time in 2004.7 The 

most recent revisions to Schedule A 

listings in 2004 only added foreign 

workers of exceptional ability in the 

performing arts to Group II; the other 

revision in 2004 was procedural and 

clarified the professional qualifications 

for eligible nurses under Schedule A.8

Some comments requesting the 

expansion of Schedule A listings in 

2004 were rejected because the 

suggestions exceeded the scope of the 

proposal. 

In part because Schedule A has not 

been comprehensively examined or 

modified in approximately three 

decades, and in part because Schedule 

A by definition allows employers to 

bypass filing an application for a labor 

certification, the Department does not 

have comprehensive data on how 

employers utilize Schedule A and the 

types of work performed thereunder. 

In order to help gather evidence about 

how to determine whether to expand or 

alter Schedule A, the Department is 

seeking information from the public that 

will help inform this decision. In this 

RFI, the Department provides an 

overview of key research, data, and 

trends related to STEM occupations. We 

also welcome comments from the public 

on non-STEM occupations, including 

those that may be related to but not 

traditionally considered STEM 

occupations as well as those that are 

outside of the STEM arena but 

nonetheless may also face labor 

shortages. 

Anecdotal evidence and industry 

research suggest that economic and 

labor market conditions have changed 

for certain industries and occupations 

that rely on foreign workers and various 

visa programs, especially in the area of 

STEM occupations, including 

occupations in the field of artificial 

intelligence (AI).9 In particular, jobs in 

the STEM fields often require a 

bachelor’s degree or higher, leaving few 

opportunities for workers younger than 

25 who do not have a bachelor’s 

degree.10 As a result, in 2021, workers 

between the ages of 16 and 24 made up 

12.7 percent of total employment across 

all occupations but only 6.8 percent of 

all STEM workers in the United 

States.11 STEM opportunities for young 

workers without a college degree do 

exist, but they mostly fall in technician 

occupations. Technician jobs are an 

important part of meeting future 

demand, but they do not address the 

demand for jobs which require a 

Bachelor’s degree or higher. For 

instance, workers in that age group 

accounted for 21.8 percent of all life, 

physical and social science technicians 

in the United States. A smaller 

percentage of younger workers held 

STEM jobs as life scientists (4 percent) 

or social scientists (2.1 percent).12

Within the various technician-related 

occupations approximately 15 percent 

of workers in this age group were 

employed as agricultural and food 

science technicians, biological 

technicians or chemical technicians 

with another 8 percent serving as 

environmental science and geoscience 

technicians.13 Under several 

Administrations, efforts have been and 

are presently being made at various 

levels, as a result of federal government, 

state government, and industry and nonprofit initiatives, to attract and train 

young workers as technicians in STEM 

fields, such as through Registered 

Apprenticeship programs provided by 

the Department’s Apprenticeship USA 

program and nonprofit organizations 

and by community colleges.14

While ETA is familiar with the BLS’s 

Occupational Employment Wage 

Statistics (OEWS) data and Employment 

Projections data,15 as well as the U.S. 

Census Bureau’s (Census Bureau) 

American Community Survey (ACS) 

data and Current Population Survey 

(CPS) data, these data sources alone do 

not appear to be sufficient for 

determining appropriate revisions to 

Schedule A. None of the datasets of 

OEWS, CPS, and ACS or projections is 

designed to identify potential labor 

shortages, as identifying such shortages 

requires knowing about labor demand, 

labor supply, and how they interact. 

However, employment surveys or 

projections cannot indicate unmet 

demand because they only record the 

demand that has been met.16

Over the last decade, the federal 

government has taken steps toward 

diversifying the pipeline of STEM talent 

in the United States, primarily 

supporting STEM education 

opportunities for historically 

underrepresented groups in these 

fields.17 According to the U.S. 

Government Accountability Office,18

the America Creating Opportunities to 

Meaningfully Promote Excellence in 

Technology, Education, and Science Act 

(COMPETES Act) was passed with the 

overall goal of increasing federal 

investment in scientific research to 

improve U.S. economic competitiveness 

and increased support for education in 

STEM fields.19 The COMPETES Act was 

signed into law on August 9, 2007. The 

COMPETES Act authorized various 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
88292 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 244 / Thursday, December 21, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

20See id.; see also Public Law 111–358, title I, 

sec. 101, 124 Stat. 3984 (Jan. 4, 2011), Public Law 

114–329, title III, sec. 304 (Jan. 6, 2017); and Public 

Law 117–167, div. B, title V, sec. 10522(e) (Aug. 9, 

2022). 

21See, e.g., Weiner, B., Why the U.S. Has a STEM 

Shortage and How We Fix it (Part 1), Recruiting 

Daily (Nov. 6, 2018), available at https://

recruitingdaily.com/why-the-u-s-has-a-stemshortage-and-how-we-fix-it-part-1/ and Pagllieri, G., 

STEM Hiring Trends in 2022: What Employers 

Need to Know, Randstad (Feb. 8, 2022), available 

at https://www.randstadusa.com/business/ 

business-insights/future-workplace-trends/stemhiring-trends-2022-what-employers-need-to/. 

22Assessing and Strengthening the 

Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and 

Supply Chain Resiliency of the United States, 82 FR 

34597 (Jul. 21, 2017), available at https://

www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/07/26/ 

2017-15860/assessing-and-strengthening-themanufacturing-and-defense-industrial-base-andsupply-chain. 

23See Fiscal Year 2020 Industrial Capabilities 

Report, Dept. of Defense (January 14, 2021), p. 13, 

available at https://www.defense.gov/News/ 

Releases/Release/Article/2472854/dod-releasesindustrial-capabilities-report/. 

24 Id. at p. 102. See also id. at p. 15 (‘‘Ultimately, 

the most important asset [the U.S.] defense 

industrial base possesses isn’t machines or 

facilities, but people. America needs an ambitious 

effort, like the Eisenhower National Defense 

Education Act, to support education and training 

for manufacturing skills required to meet DoD and 

wider U.S. requirements. As the Industrial 

Capabilities Report notes, while China has four 

times the U.S. population, it has eight times as 

many STEM grads, while Russia has almost four 

times more engineers than the United States. [The 

United States has] lost ground also in many equally 

important touch labor industrial skills sets.’’) 

25 Id. at pp. 86 (‘‘Promising STEM and trade-skill 

oriented personnel are leaving the sector industry 

for other occupations. Individuals with these skills 

are becoming harder to recruit and retain due to 

barriers of pay, location, and cyclical sector 

demand.’’) and 113 (‘‘In keeping with priorities 

articulated by executives, workforce-related efforts 

undertaken by the U.S. Services due to the 

coronavirus pandemic focused on retaining rather 

than growing or enhancing the industrial 

workforce.’’) 

26See The STEM Workforce of Today: Scientists, 

Engineers, and Skilled Technical Workers, National 

Science Board (Aug. 31, 2021), at p. 72, available 

at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20212/assets/

nsb20212.pdf. 

27 Id. at p. 9. 

28See Fact Sheet, Foreign-Born Workers in the 

United States, American Immigration Council (Jun. 

14, 2022), available at https://www.american

immigrationcouncil.org/research/foreign-born-stemworkers-united-states. 

29 Id. (citing microdata from the U.S. Census 

Bureau’s 2000, 2010, and 2019 American 

Community Surveys). 

30See Blau, David M. and Weinberg, Bruce A., 

Why the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce 

Is Again Rapidly, Proceedings of the Nat’l Academy 

of Sciences of the United States of America (Apr. 

11, 2017), pp. 3379–84, available at https://

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5393244/ 

pdf/pnas.201611748.pdf (citing data from the 1993– 

2010 Surveys of Doctorate Recipients of the 

National Science Foundation, available at https:// 

nsf.gov/statistics/srvydoctoratework/). 

31 Id. at p. 3380. 

32See Dimock, M., Defining Where Millennials 

End and Generation Z Begins, Pew Research Center 

(Jan. 17, 2019), available at https://

www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/wheremillennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/. 

33See Deloitte Insights, Issues By the Numbers, A 

New Understanding of Millennials: Generational 

Differences Reexamined, Deloitte Univ. Press (Oct. 

2015), p. 2, available at https://www2.deloitte.com/ 

content/dam/insights/us/articles/understandingmillennials-generational-differences/DUP1276_

Millennials_report_MASTER_101615.pdf. 

34 Id. at p. 4. 

programs at the National Science 

Foundation (NSF) and the Departments 

of Energy, Commerce, and Education 

intended to strengthen STEM education 

and research in the United States. Since 

its inception, the COMPETES Act has 

been reauthorized numerous times as 

various organizations have discovered 

that the United States’s competitiveness 

in STEM education has deteriorated 

relative to advances by other countries. 

The most recent reauthorization, which 

took place in 2022, added several 

provisions to strengthen and expand the 

U.S. STEM workforce and ensure that it 

more accurately reflects the diversity of 

the nation.20

The Department notes that various 

articles and studies have been written 

and conducted outlining reasons why 

there has been a STEM shortage in the 

United States including: a lack of 

interest in STEM occupations, a STEM 

branding problem with younger 

generations, and employers’ lack of 

access to foreign talent.21

Executive Order 13806, published in 

2017, directs the Secretary of Defense to 

conduct a government-wide risk 

analysis of manufacturing and the 

defense industrial base and propose 

recommendations to improve economic 

and national security.22 In 2021, the 

U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) 

assessed the macroeconomic forces 

affecting the U.S. industrial base in 

response to Executive Order 13806 and 

outlined several problems, included 

diminishing STEM education.23 DOD 

found that the United States is 

graduating fewer students with STEM 

degrees as a percentage of population 

compared to China and that the United 

States no longer has the most STEM 

graduates worldwide, as it is being 

rapidly outpaced by China.24 The report 

also noted that, as of 2017, American 

students made up approximately 21 

percent of the computer science student 

body and 19 percent of electrical 

engineering majors among the nation’s 

universities. In support of the DOD’s 

conclusion that STEM-focused sectors 

are struggling to attract and retain toptier technical talent from the United 

States,25 data from the National Science 

Board (NSB) reveals that more than onehalf of all graduates of engineering, 

computer science, and mathematics 

doctoral programs at U.S. universities 

are foreign-born, as universities are 

turning to foreign students to address a 

shortfall of U.S. candidates for those 

programs.26 Many of these foreign-born, 

U.S.-educated and trained students 

entering the U.S. workforce have 

become U.S. permanent residents or 

U.S. citizens, leading the NSB to 

conclude that ‘‘immigration represents a 

key component to building the capacity 

of the U.S. STEM workforce.’’ 27

Subsequently, a non-profit 

organization, produced an analysis of 

data from the Census Bureau stating that 

foreign-born STEM workers have made 

important contributions to the U.S. 

economy in terms of productivity and 

innovation.28 Its research found that, as 

the demand for STEM workers 

continues to increase, foreign-born 

STEM workers will likely continue to 

complement the U.S. workers and play 

a key role in U.S. productivity and 

innovation.29

At the same time that the U.S. has 

shown greater reliance on foreign 

workers and foreign-born U.S.-educated 

workers, the U.S. is undergoing 

significant demographic changes 

indicating that the U.S. faces many 

challenges in supplying its own 

domestic STEM workforce. In 2017, a 

scientific journal determined that the 

U.S. had seen significant demographic 

trends with an aging STEM workforce 

that saw a decline in scientists ages 35 

to 53 and a rise in scientists older than 

53 between 1993 and 2010.30 The report 

points out that during the same time 

period the average age of the scientific 

workforce increased from 45.1 to 48.6, 

whereas the average age of the general 

workforce only increased from 42.2 to 

45.4, indicating that the STEM 

workforce is both older and is aging 

more rapidly.31 Private sector studies 

have found that, as the ‘‘baby boomer’’ 

generation moves into retirement, 

millennials 32 will compose the largest 

share of the labor market. Millennials, 

however, are not showing an increased 

tendency to major in high-demand areas 

of STEM fields despite a higher 

proportion of this population choosing 

to attend college.33 These studies 

suggest that younger generations trail 

older generations in choosing STEM 

majors, except for computer and 

information services, instead 

disproportionately choosing to major in 

business, health professions, and visual 

and performing arts compared to older 

generations.34

According to BLS data of job 

openings, hires, separations, and total 

employment in the United States, 

employment growth is projected to slow 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 244 / Thursday, December 21, 2023 / Proposed Rules 88293 

35See Dubina, Kevin S. et al., Projections 

Overview and Highlights, 2018–2028, Bureau of 

Labor Statistics Monthly Labor Review (Oct. 2019), 

available at https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2019/ 

article/projections-overview-and-highlights-2018- 

28.htm#top. 

36See Meyer B. and Daugherty, J., Paving the Way 

to Gender Equity Through STEM Education, U.S. 

Chamber of Commerce Foundation (Mar. 3, 2021), 

available at https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/ 

blog/post/paving-way-gender-equity-through-stemeducation. 

37See Kautzsch, T. and Chien A., Bringing 

Manufacturing Jobs Back to the US?, Oliver Wyman, 

available at https://www.oliverwyman.com/ourexpertise/insights/2017/nov/perspectives-onmanufacturing-industries-vol-12/manufacturing-ina-changing-world/bringing-manufacturing-jobsback-to-the-US.html. 

38See Dowell, Earlene K.P., Manufacturing Opens 

More Doors to Women, U.S. Census Bureau (Oct. 3, 

2022), available at https://www.census.gov/library/ 

stories/2022/10/more-women-in-manufacturingjobs.html. 

39See Boggs G., et al., Addressing the STEM 

Workforce Shortage, U.S. Chamber of Commerce 

Foundation (Oct. 17, 2022), available at https://

www.uschamberfoundation.org/blog/post/ 

addressing-stem-workforce-shortage (‘‘Women are 

underrepresented in several STEM occupations, 

particularly in computer jobs and engineering. The 

racial and gender inequalities have significant 

income implications. Even among workers with 

similar education, STEM workers earn significantly 

more. At a time when we need to address STEM 

labor shortages, we cannot afford to leave segments 

of our population behind.’’ (citing data from The 

Skilled Technical Workforce: Creating America’s 

Science and Engineering Enterprise, National 

Science Board (Sept. 3, 2019), available at https:// 

www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2019/nsb201923.

pdf). 

40See Funk C. and Parker, K., Women and Men 

in STEM Often at Odds Over Workplace Equity, 

Pew Research Center (Jan. 18, 2019), p. 24, available 

at https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/wpcontent/uploads/sites/3/2018/01/PS_2018.01.09_

STEM_FINAL.pdf. (‘‘Blacks make up 11% of the 

U.S. workforce overall but represent 9% of STEM 

workers, while Hispanics comprise 16% of the U.S. 

workforce but only 7% of all STEM workers. And 

among employed adults with a bachelor’s degree or 

higher, Blacks are just 7% and Hispanics are 6% of 

the STEM workforce.’’) 

41See The STEM Workforce of Today: Scientists, 

Engineers, and Skilled Technical Workers, National 

Science Board (Aug. 31, 2021), p. 69, 

Intersectionality In Stem, available at https://ncses.

nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20212/participation-ofdemographic-groups-in-stem (‘‘Female S&E highest 

degree holders tend to work proportionately less in 

S&E occupations (26%) compared to men (45%) 

(Figure LBR–30; Table SLBR–32). However, the 

extent to which women with their highest degree 

in an S&E field worked in S&E occupations varied 

by race or ethnicity. Among women with their 

highest degree in an S&E field, Asian women 

worked proportionately more in S&E occupations 

(45%) compared to White (24%), Hispanic or Latino 

(22%), other races or ethnicities (21%), and Black 

or African American women (15%) (Figure LBR– 

30).’’) 

42See Community College Presidents’ Initiative 

in STEM Education, Resources, available at https:// 

www.ccpi-stem.org/resources/ and Sdavkovich V. et 

al., Have You Heard About the Community College 

Presidents’ Initiative in STEM?, HigherEdJobs (May 

31, 2022), available at https://www.higheredjobs.

com/articles/articleDisplay.cfm?ID=3065 (citing 

Fast Facts 2022, American Association of 

Community Colleges (May 11, 2022), available at 

https://www.aacc.nche.edu/research-trends/fastfacts/ (‘‘51 percent of community college students 

taking college credit classes are students of color.’’)) 

43See Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment 

Projections: Employment in STEM Occupations, 

Table 1.7, Occupational Projections, 2022–32, and 

Worker Characteristics, 2022 (Numbers in 

Thousands), available at https://www.bls.gov/emp/ 

tables/occupational-projections-and-characteristics.

htm, and Table 1.11, Employment in STEM 

Occupations, 2022 and Projected 2032 (Sept. 6, 

2023), available at https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/ 

stem-employment.htm. 

44 Id. at Table 1.7. (In addition to those two 

occupations, BLS projects increases as well for 

physical scientists (5.3%), STEM post-secondary 

teachers (6.8%), life scientists (7.1%), and engineers 

(6.9%), all of which exceed the 2.8% average 

growth across all occupations.) 

45See supra note 26, at pp. 7 (‘‘As such, the 

STEM workforce described in this report includes 

occupations that have historically been known to 

require STEM skills and expertise (e.g., life 

sciences, physical sciences, engineering, 

mathematics and computer sciences, social 

sciences, and health care) as well as occupations 

that are not typically considered STEM fields but 

that do, in fact, require STEM skills (e.g., 

installation, maintenance and repair, construction 

trades, and production occupations))’’ and 11; see 

also supra note 10. Non-STEM occupations 

primarily include occupations in management 

(excluding S&E and S&E-related managers, 

industrial production managers, and farmers, 

ranchers, and agricultural managers), sales 

(excluding sales engineers), transportation and 

material moving (excluding transportation 

inspectors and pumping station operators), office 

and administrative support, and education and 

training. See Table SLBR–1 for a full list of nonSTEM occupations. 

over the next decade because of slowing 

population growth and changing 

demographics. The data outlined that 

the labor force participation rate for 

those ages 65 years and older is 

expected to increase to 23.3 percent in 

2028, up from 19.6 percent in 2018 due 

to lack of sufficient retirement savings 

and employer-provided health 

insurance and employers’ increased 

willingness to hire and retain older 

workers who may have institutional 

knowledge that is not easily replaceable, 

while the labor force participation of 

those ages 16–24 is expected to decline 

during that same period.35

These trends are also more 

pronounced for certain demographics. 

For example, additional analysis finds 

women are underrepresented in STEM 

careers and are being hindered in STEM 

by social barriers, like gender 

stereotypes and lack of representation, 

and discouragement.36 According to a 

management consulting firm, the next 

wave of efficiency gains in global 

manufacturing will be driven by 

digitalization and big data on the shop 

floor, which will require more skilled 

workers with STEM knowledge, 

problem solving skills, and 

programming familiarity.37

Additionally, the Census Bureau states 

that women make up approximately 47 

percent of the American workforce but 

only 30 percent work in manufacturing. 

Among ways the manufacturing 

industry has been attracting more 

women are attempts to reduce the 

gender gap is by encouraging girls to 

study STEM subjects at a young age.38

Furthermore, there remain significant 

racial disparities in the technical 

workforce among women.39 Recent 

surveys have shown that Black and 

Hispanic U.S. workers are vastly 

underrepresented in the STEM 

workforce.40 According to an August 31, 

2021, NSB report females with their 

highest degree in science and 

engineering (S&E) tend to work 

proportionately less in S&E occupations 

compared to men. Among women in 

S&E there are also tremendous 

disparities, with 45 percent of Asian 

women with such degrees working in 

STEM, compared to 24 percent, 22 

percent, and 15 percent respectively for 

white, Hispanic or Latino, and Black 

women.41 The U.S. Chamber of 

Commerce noted that the NSF 

implemented a strategy to address these 

issues through a newly funded 

Community College Presidents’ 

Initiative in STEM Education by 

introducing STEM programs at the 

earliest stages of post-secondary STEM 

education as community colleges serve 

the most diverse student body in higher 

education and serve as a gateway to 

further higher education.42

Not only is the United States facing 

headwinds in developing enough U.S.- 

born students pursuing STEM careers to 

replace those entering retirement, but 

broader market trends also suggest that 

the need for STEM workers will 

increase in future years. The growth rate 

of employment in STEM fields is 

projected to expand significantly— 

specifically, by 10.8 percent through 

2032, compared to 2.8 percent for all 

occupations.43 Although growth in 

STEM occupations is led by substantial 

increases in mathematical science 

occupations (29.2 percent) and 

computer occupations (14.2 percent), 

the expected growth for every major 

STEM occupational classification is 

expected to exceed the growth for all 

occupations.44

However, the NSB, in its analysis of 

the U.S. STEM labor force, argued that 

new scientific and technological 

advancements and discoveries, such as 

quantum technologies, space 

exploration, and medical vaccines, are 

‘‘rapidly changing the world of work 

and, as a result, continue to challenge 

the traditional framework used to define 

the STEM labor force in the United 

States.’’ 45 The basis of this report 

introduced a limited analysis of the 

skilled technical workforce (STW) 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
88294 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 244 / Thursday, December 21, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

46 Id. 47 Id.; see also Employed Adults in STEM and 

Non-STEM Occupations, by Broad and Detailed 

Occupation: 2019, available at https://

ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20212/data/table/SLBR-1#. 48Compare supra note 26, at p. 11, with supra 

note 43 (noting BLS employment projections rank 

construction as the industry sector with the third 

highest projected growth over the next 10 years 

behind health care and education services). See also 

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 

(ACS), available at https://www.census.gov/ 

programs-surveys/acs. 49See Esterline, C., The Case for Updating 

Schedule A, Niskanen Center (Oct. 2022), available 

at https://www.niskanencenter.org/wp-content/ 

uploads/2022/10/PolicyBriefTHE-CASE-FORUPDATING-SCHEDULE-A.pdf (highlighting specific 

benefits of using Schedule A during COVID 

pandemic); see, e.g., Peri G. and Zaiour, R., Labor 

Shortages and the Immigration Shortfall, Econofact 

(Jan. 11, 2022), available at https://econofact.org/ 

labor-shortages-and-the-immigration-shortfall and 

Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, Why America 

Needs High Skill Immigrants, Kenan Insight (Jul. 

22, 2020), available at https://kenaninstitute.

unc.edu/kenan-insight/why-america-needs-highskilled-immigrants/ (discussing need for expanding 

immigration during the COVID pandemic). 

50See Esterline, supra note 49, at pp. 3 

(‘‘According to BLS’s JOLTS, from 2011 to 2021 the 

number of job openings increased on average 12 

percent per year accounting for the downturn seen 

in early 2020. Further data from BLS’s JOLTS points 

that in August 2022 approximately 6 million 

Americans were unemployed, yet job openings in 

the same month exceeded 10 million.’’) and 8 

(‘‘While much can and should be done to improve 

STEM education in the United States or to increase 

the matching potential between American skills and 

interests and current job openings, the statistics still 

show that this alone will likely not be enough.’’). 

51Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational 

Employment and Wage Statistics (Feb. 4, 2022), 

available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/topics.htm#

stem. 

52The Department’s issuance of this RFI and the 

input sought in this request are consistent with the 

AI E.O., which directed the Secretary of Labor, 

within 45 days of issuance the AI E.O., to publish 

a RFI soliciting public input to identify AI and 

other STEM-related occupations, as well as 

additional occupations across the economy, for 

which there is an insufficient number of ready, 

willing, able, and qualified U.S. workers for 

purposes of updating Schedule A. See AI E.O., 

supra note 9, at Sec. 5(e). 

which included occupations that 

require a high level of knowledge in a 

technical domain but did not require a 

bachelor’s degree.46 As a result, the NSB 

suggested to broaden the definition of 

STEM to include workers without a 

bachelor’s degree who are employed in 

S&E, S&E-related, and non-STEM 

middle-skill occupations.47 The NSB 

also argued that building a STEM 

workforce demanded expanding the 

definition of STEM to include middleskill occupations, such as construction, 

extraction, and production, pointing out 

that the 2019 ACS survey that finds 

nearly 20 million STEM workers 

without a bachelor’s degree worked in 

middle-skill occupations.48

Furthermore, others have argued that 

the COVID–19 outbreak has resulted in 

shortfalls of STEM workers and 

suggested that immigration can alleviate 

those shortages.49 Upon review of BLS’ 

Job Openings and Labor Turnover 

Survey (JOLTS), reflecting the number 

of yearly job openings measured as an 

annual mean to monthly job openings, 

one organization argued that the 

shortfalls of STEM workers has been 

building continuously since 2020 and 

cannot be solved through the domestic 

workforce.50

In evaluating the utility of expanding 

Schedule A to include STEM 

occupations, the Department invites the 

public to provide input on the 

appropriate data sources and methods 

for determining whether labor shortages 

exist, whether Schedule A should be 

used to alleviate any labor shortages in 

STEM occupations should it be 

determined from these data sources and 

methods that such shortages exist, and 

if so, how the Department could 

establish a reliable, objective, and 

transparent methodology for identifying 

STEM occupations that are experiencing 

labor shortages. Additionally, the 

Department invites the public to 

provide input on whether to limit 

examination of STEM only to those 

OEWS occupations used in most of the 

recent BLS publications,51 or whether 

the STEM occupations should be 

expanded to include additional 

occupations that cover STW 

occupations, and whether it is 

justifiable to find for each such 

occupation that there are not and will 

not be sufficient U.S. workers ready, 

willing, able and qualified to perform 

positions in those occupations 

nationwide, considering significant 

government and private sector 

investment in STEM education and 

research to enhance STEM labor market 

participation among U.S. workers 

generally and among underrepresented 

groups specifically. Similarly, the 

Department encourages the public to 

provide input as to whether there are 

non-STEM occupations which should 

be added to Schedule A and, if such 

occupations exist, to provide the data 

sources and methods of determining 

such shortages exist. This input will 

assist the Department in fulfilling its 

obligation under the INA to ensure the 

employment of foreign workers will not 

adversely affect the wages and working 

conditions of U.S. workers. Information 

received from the public will help 

inform decisions regarding whether or 

how to improve Schedule A and ensure 

that its purpose in responding to 

national labor shortages is more 

effectively met. 

The Department invites general 

comments and suggestions concerning: 

(A) whether any STEM occupations 

should be added to Schedule A, and 

why; and 

(B) defining and determining which 

occupations should be considered as 

falling under the umbrella of STEM, and 

why. 

The Department is also specifically 

seeking input on the questions listed 

below.52 To the extent possible and 

wherever appropriate, responses to this 

RFI should indicate the question 

number(s) and include specific 

information, data, statistical models and 

metrics, and any resources relied on in 

reaching conclusions for its claims, 

rather than relying on general 

observations. 

Accordingly, the Department invites 

the public to answer one or more of the 

following questions in their 

submissions: 

1. Besides the OEWS, ACS, and CPS, 

what other appropriate sources of data 

are available that can be used to 

determine or forecast potential labor 

shortages for STEM occupations by 

occupation and geographic area? 

2. What methods are available that 

can be used alone, or in conjunction 

with other methods, to measure 

presence and severity of labor shortages 

for STEM occupations by occupation 

and geographic area? 

3. How could the Department 

establish a reliable, objective, and 

transparent methodology for identifying 

STEM occupations with significant 

shortages of workers that should be 

added to Schedule A? 

4. Should the STEM occupations 

potentially added to Schedule A be 

limited to those OEWS occupations 

used in most of the recent BLS 

publications, or should the STEM 

occupations be expanded to include 

additional occupations that cover STW 

occupations? 

5. Beyond the parameters discussed 

for STW occupations, should the 

Department expand Schedule A to 

include other non-STEM occupations? If 

so, what should the Department 

consider to establish a reliable, 

objective, and transparent methodology 

for identifying non-STEM occupations 

with a significant shortage of workers 

that should be added to or removed 

from Schedule A? 

Brent Parton, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Employment and Training, Labor. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27938 Filed 12–20–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FP–P 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS